Locations
Castles Castle Lezener (Location: 39-A9) -Castle Lezener was built less that two decades before the start of the elven wars. The castle construction actually began some seventy years prior, however it was beset by various troubles from the very beginning. Construction accidents, dishonest materials merchants, financial troubles, and even a flood. The castle's construction puttered about for several decades, and even had to be restarted once due to the aforementioned flood. The castle's troubles brought the original noble family to own the land to financial ruin, and the last heir died of stress-related illnesses. The castle and its surrounding villages was then purchased by the Lezener Family in 240EF. The Lezeners hired dwarven contractors from one of the mountainhomes in the Gray Mountains, and in just ten years finished what the previous owners couldn't do in sixty. The finished structure was of a somewhat basic -- some would say, simple -- design. The walls were built on a roughly rhomboid shape, connecting three large square towers and a large keep. As the castle was built on a plain, it lacked any natural defensive features, so a moat surrouding it was dug, and two local streams were diverted to fill it. In what was an odd decision from a defensive standpoint, the moat was spanned with a wide, stone bridge. By all accounts, the castle was profitable, taking advantage of its position as the gateway to the Frontier's region known as the Golden Fields -- the highly fertile plains stretching north of the Orsha River. Camril even finds mention of plans to build an imperial highway through the region. Unfortunately, that was when the war broke out. Here is where information on the Lezener family becomes muddled and fragmented. The head of the family commited some grave offense -- serious enough that the Lezeners lost all their lands and titles. And, as far as the records are concerned, this is the end of the family's history. With to the war occupying the emperor's full attention, and the battlelines shifting ever further south, the castle and its holdings was never bequeathed upon another family. The last reliable information on it is from 36 years ago, from a report submitted by the leader of a raiding party sent north across the river. According to him, the castle appeared to still be intact. !Second Hand Knowledge! (From the archives of Fort Tulder) -This castle stands at the entrance to vast swathes of fertile farmland that have lain fallow ever since the start of the elven war. The commander does not expect much trouble in clearing it out -- at worst, the keep could've become home to a pack of wolves, or a bear. !Second Hand Knowledge! '(From the bounty board, put up by Bishop Levaine) Castle Redlake (Location: 42-B1) - Castle Redlake is mostly a ruin these days. It is surrounded by a blight-contaminated moat and is only accessible by a collapsed tower. - The castle could possibly be repaired into working condition, but access to water would be a continuous problem. Unless there is a portable version of the method used to treat the water, it's unlikely to be a feasible option. - Magic behaves unpredictably, so be cautious when trying to use magical healing. - CAUTION. Castle Redlake is located within territory tainted by the blight carried by the Vartva River. The commander advises any who venture there to carry enough food and water for themselves and their mounts, as blighted animals, plants and water are not safe to consume. Furthermore, he advises extreme caution when engaging tainted creatures -- not only are they extremely aggressive, but their bites often carry painful and long-lasting diseases. '!Second Hand Knowledge! (From the bounty board, put up by Bishop Levaine) - The castle was cleared of enemies during the first expedition on the 26th of September. Castle Roogna (Location: 45-B1) -In the early days of the Northern Frontier's provincial status, Roogna was little more than a large watchtower and guardpost, one of several established along the imperial highway being constructed to connect the growing Frontier cities, as well as Brandon's Keep to the rest of the empire. They served to protect workers and travelers from dangers lurking within the woods, such as the few scattered monstrous tribes that still remained in the province. Once the roads became sufficiently safe, the empire, rather than pay for upkeep of men and horses, bequeathed the watchtowers lands upon noble families and charged them with maintaining order. Such was the case with Castle Roogna -- though one would be hard-pressed to call it a true castle. The new owner did little more than turn the watchtower into a keep for his family and footmen, built several outbuildings for servants and livestock, and then surrounded the entire thing with a wooden palisade. This setup, according to a 40-year-old scouting report, did not stand the test of time. It describes the tower as on the verge of collapse, the palisade all but gone and the outbuildings being overtaken by plantlife. !Second Hand Knowledge! (From the Tulder archieves) -Castle Roogna overlooks one of the great imperial highways, which will be vital to any plans of shifting troops and supplies further north. The commander suspects the castle may have been overrun by aggressive fauna from within White Tower Woods -- in particular, he fears the spreading spider infestation reported by riverside outposts to the east.(See White Tower Woods) !Second Hand Knowledge! (From the bounty board, put up by Bishop Levaine) -Roogna is little more than a ruin: it now lies on the border of the Wite Tower Woods, and will probably be subsumed into them if given a few more years. Spiders of sizes ranging from dog to horse sized have been slain at castle Roogna. It has been cleared for now. -At the site of the castle the body of a half-elf was found mummied in webbing. He wore a holy symbol thatwere later identified as signifying one of the old gods. Aditionally, he carried onyx gems. As those are usually used to raise the undead, I speculate that the cults of the Old Gods may be responsible for the undead activity encountered near Lezener. -On the road to Roogna, the 2nd Expedition encountered a group of aggressive and mobile plant-lifes which were put down, no knowledge on their source. They made their way otherwise untroubled to the fort, where they encountered a druid by the name of "Dvion," who spoke for the "circle of the white tower woods", an organization presumed to be active within the bounds of the forest and nearby environs. They negotiated a tentative non-aggression pact with this man, securing free passage through their lands and shelter in the fort (now claimed by the circle - expect to run into critters here who may not be hostile) in exchange for a pledge to work towards destroying the "walking dead" and a promise to not kill a single creature more than is required. Hunting for sport or pleasure would break this pact, as would any attempt to permanently inhabit Fort Roogna. Destroying Blighted creatures is not a breach, neither is hunting for food or actions taken in self-defense. In addition, a breach of this pact by one is seen as a breach by all. A box will be placed in the main hall of Fort Roogna by the druids, where either party may leave notes to communicate with the other. When asked, Dvion offered the assistance of the circle in cleansing the blight from the Vartva river. He also directed us toward the fort on the road north of Roogna as a location to find the necromancers at. Notable regions Blighted lands The area surrounding Vartva river is contaminated by some sort of a magical plague. It corrupts everything it touches, and the area is reputedly rife with blighted creatures. When entering the blighted lands you must carry enough water, food and animal feed with you, as the water and grass found within are dangerous to consume. Touching the water seems to cause some sort of confusion in addition to spreading disease. We don't yet know what sort of diseases can be caught in the area, but the assumption is that they're pretty nasty. Falling into the water doesn't seem instantly deadly or anything, but should be avoided. The most troublesome was the confusion, that can cause you to hurt yourself or others One should carry gloves and other protective gear as well. Expect will and fort saves. Important Magic behaves unpredictably in the blighted lands. Every time you cast a spell you have to make a concentration check and it'll have random secondary effects. Lot's of d100's. Effects encountered so far are: it disintegrated the caster's backpack, caused flammable blue grass to sprout everywhere in a 60' radius (at least). Enemies encountered in the area Pus-covered zombie Upon death, a small ooze bled out from the wounds of the zombie. The ooze then proceeded to attack us, dealing bludgeoning and acid damage. On death it exploded, dealing acid damage to adjacent creatures + spreading disease. Gelatinous ooze There was a large-sized ooze in the moat of castle Redlake. It had 10ft reach, DR 5 (/magic?) and the ability to engulf enemies. When it tries to engulf you you get an AoO or a reflex save to dodge it, but you need to have a space to dodge into. After it engulfs someone it'll probably try to run back into the (poisonous water) Some kind of a ooze hanging from the ceiling I didn't personally witness this one, as I was out of LoS at the time, but it was a relatively easy to kill medium sized ooze. Upon death however it released several ooze swarms that dealt acid damage. It didn't take much fire damage to destroy them though. (rolling a 2 on alchemist's fire did them in, but the area was covered in flammable blue grass at the time, so who knows) White Castle Woods Home to deadly wildlife (giant spiders, for instance) and a circle of druids. The adventurers currently have a truce with the adventurers, allowing them passage through their lands provided they don't kill a single living being if they don't have to. Hunting for food or killing to protect yourself are allowed. The bishop is very much against this truce, and any dealings with the druids are a punishable offence (if you get caught that is). The spiders encountered in the area are poisonous, typically causing str and dex damage. Don't recall seeing con damage, fortunately.